A few 6x17 scans

 The weather has taken a turn for the worst. We have an "Extreme Heat" warning issued for the next few days, and looking at the forecast, we will be reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the next week. It will be dangerous. 

Today it was bearable in the morning. I left to do my morning walk at about 9 a.m., and we had a nice breeze. It was hot and we did have haze, and the haze continued for the next few hours. I did some yardwork today as well. The lawn needed to be mowed, and I needed to remove some weeds. Other than that, I didn't go anywhere. 

Once inside, we needed the air conditioning. It was turned on and stayed on for the rest of the day. I didn't dare venture outside again, but when I would open the front door, there was always a blast of heat from outside. It made me sad to think that my dad was forced to work in a kiln during this type of weather. 

So, I started scanning and finished a few rolls. I will upload the screen grabs since I can't upload the full resolution files. These were from some of the rolls I received from the Darkroom lab yesterday.

This is the Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library and Gardens. If I were to evaluate it, I would not be happy. The scene is, to quote Ben Horne, too "chaotic". There is no central focus, and it is much too cluttered. I don't know if the focus should be on the shrubs, the stone statues or the buildings in back. It just doesn't go together well.

This is from my roll of UCLA photos, taken on June 6th. I like it a little better, the focus is unquestionably Royce Hall. What I don't like are the garish colors. I think I was using Portra 400 and made the mistake of choosing to let my scanner "correct" the colors. And yes, it is graduation season. UCLA is on the quarter system still, and they will be graduating about this time, the middle of June, but the seniors start posing for their photos (and hiring photographers) from the beginning of the month. 

I am not sure, but I think this is Descanso Gardens. It was on the same roll as my photos from the Huntington, but it does not look like the Huntington Gardens. I don't recall this scene at all,while it does seem more likely to have been from Descanso. I love the colors of the trees. Now, I fear, everything will be a drab green color, because we are in the middle of summer.